The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-06-25
IynOr ant OF Their Own Country.

London Letter to the San Francisco Argo-
nauut-
There are no people Mt home who
know so much about the great places of
interest in London as do Americans. 1t
is a curious fact, and one as pitiable as it
Is curious, that but few Englishmen, as
you meet them, have ever been i'm the
Tower of London of the British Mu-
scum. remember not long ago speak
ing to a gentleman from San Francisco
ON this very subject, and the apparent
lack of interest, which English people
display in regard to their own country.
They wander all over the globe, from
the North Pole to the Antarctic CONT
nent, in search of sights and wonders,
and never once dream of investigating
anything at home, either before they go
or after they get back. He said:
do you know, the same idea has
struck me very forcibly? If you will
pardon my saying SO, never met a peO-
pie of any country, and / have trav-
eled considerably, who were SO igno-
rant of their native land and all that
makes it of interest to the foreigner.
While they go rambling about the world
for recreation, and can tell you so much
about things worth seeing in other
places, they know nothing about Eng
land. Ask em, and see. When abroad
they penetrate the jungles of India, cross
the deserts of Egypt and South Africa,
climb the mountains of Switzerland and
rough it on the plains of the far West,
but when at home live the lives of ster-
eOtyped gentlemen, content to pass
their days in their clubs or
in their country houses, doing the same
thing every day from one years end to
the other and caring for nothing but
their own immediate surroundings,
they play tennis and cricket in summer,
go to a few horse races, because it is the
fashion; shoot grouse, cartridges and
pheasants in autumn, and hunt foxes in
winter. Beyond these things they care
not button for anything. Curiously
| enough, they don't realize it themselves,
though sharp enough to detect the
same detect i'm others. One of the men
l refer to asked me the other day some
thing about the Yosemite Valley.
have never been there, told him.
''He let his glass drop out of his eyes,
so great was the elevation of his eve
| brows, he held up his hands in amaze
ment.
What? BY jover he exclaimed. Fancy
never seeing the Yosemite Valley, and
you've lived in Frisco (all Englishmen
call it 'Frisco) how many years.
Over twenty. You see, could go
anyday. We think nothing of
a hundred or two miles i'm California
why man alive, went six thous-
and miles there, and six thousand back
again, don't you know. to see the YOse-
mite myself He looked very proud of
himself as he said this.
Look here said l after a minute. to
let him enjoy his self-complacency, have
YOU seen StOnehengeg
What? N-no.'
. Or the Giants Causeway|
mo
''Or Shakespeare's house at Stratford-
on-AvOn?'
"'N-nO.'
.'Or Hampton court, or the Tower?
mo
Then you mustn't talk to me about
never going to the Yosemite. The Tower
Is about three miles from here. I've
been there a dozen times already, but l
don't mind going again. Let's jump in
to a hanson and drive there now
''He look thuuderstruck. The Tower.
he said: isn't that the place the Aries
go to on a hank holiday? Not to-day,
please; I've an engagement to drive
with chap in the park. Ta-ta-'
That's pretty much the way with all
of Them"